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“Jesus,” Remington exhaled, running a hand through his blond curls. “Bold little fucker, isn’t he?”
“Something like that,” I said acerbically.
“Azura is going to love this,” Remington added with a half grin. “I have cameras everywhere. Obviously. You won’t have to get within a hundred yards of him for the rest of your life, now.”
Lachlan pressed me to him, kissing the top of my head. “I don’t know what you said, but you looked sassy as shit while you were saying it.”
I gusted out a laugh. “It was no less than he deserved to hear, honestly.”
The sun had begun to disappear behind the mountains, and the lower it sank, the calmer my nerves became. With each minute that deepened the sunset to violet and midnight blue, my fears seemed to vanish with the fiery glow. Remington and Michaela lit a fire in their firepit, and we sat in comfortable lawn chairs around it, laughing at the kids’ antics and roasting marshmallows. I ate like twelve of them before Lachlan confiscated the bag and trapped my arms to my sides on his lap.
Then, Michaela and I got the kids ready for bed, and she assured me that Calla was welcome to sleep in their guest room while the adults broke out another bottle of wine to unwind. Calla must have been exhausted from driving all day and then playing all night, because only halfway through the first song on her sleeping playlist, she was out cold.
As I closed her door behind me, a computerdingsounded from the kitchen. Then another one. And another one.Ding, ding, ding.
Remington bounded through the sliding doors, snatched a pair of thick-rimmed glasses off the dining room table, and then skidded to a halt in the kitchen in front of the marble island where four laptops had been set up. He jammed the glasses on his face and clicked his mouse.
I joined him warily. “What is it?”
He grinned. “My God. This is so much better than I thought.”
Lachlan came in at a measured pace, his expression curious. “He took the bait?”
“Boy howdy, did he.” Remington typed code into a black box, and then he cackled. “Jesus, he didn’t even use an encrypted server. He stopped at some random gas station and went to town on his personal computer. What a doofus.” Remington looked up from the computer and pushed up his glasses with the back of his hand. “Laurel, you tell me what you want to do. I’ve got his balls in my hand, and I can squeeze as hard as you want.”
I’d been thinking about that all night. Part of me wanted Remington to do his worst, to take Jason down several pegs and havehimbeggingmefor a change. But then I’d considered all the ways that would tarnish whoIwas, and I wondered how that might affect Calla someday. I knew, in my heart, that this trip with her father would likely be her last for a long time. Jason had crossed lines that couldn’t be uncrossed. Until I knew Calla’s father had pulled his shit together—until I could be sure he wouldn’t harm her just to retaliate against me—I couldn’t let her be with him.
And with that came the sobering responsibility to give Jason thechanceto change. For Calla’s sake, I needed to give the fucker the room to do better. I couldn’t control him, but I could give him the chance.
I folded my arms. “I don’t know how your trap works, but I think the best thing would be to protect yourselves. Whatever wall you can build to keep him out and deter him from trying again.”
Remington pulled a face. “Aw, come on. You don’t even want me to give him a teeny tiny malware virus?”
I made an uncertain, sweeping gesture with my hand. “I don’t know. Sure, give him a virus. Especially if it will wipe whatever he has on that computer.”
“That I can do,” Remington said with evil glee.
Lachlan kissed the side of my neck and sighed against my skin. “You’re way too nice, Miss Brook.”
I scoffed, pulling my head back to give him an offended glare. “I’m not nice. I’m sassy, remember?”
“Uh huh,” he rolled his eyes.
I pursed my lips. “Hey, Remington.”
“Yeah?” he asked, looking over his shoulder at me again.
“There are certain ways to sell someone’s information to telemarketers and stuff, right?”
Remington snickered. “Among other things.”
“Sign him up for all the things. Preferably the annoying ones.”
“With pleasure, madam,” Remington agreed.
Lachlantsked, pulling me away from the kitchen to the darkened dining room. “I guess I’d better watch myself with you, Miss Brook. I might find myself with a mailbox full of furry porn.”
“You’re not into that?” I teased, letting him turn me so our hips fit together and his palm pressed the small of my back. “Not your jam?”
